Knicks

Clippers today VS. NEW YORK When: 12:30 p.m. Where: Staples Center. On the air: TV: Channel 7; Radio: 980, 1330. Records: Clippers 45-21, Knicks 38-25. Record vs. Knicks : 1-0. Update: The Clippers have lost three of their last five games. They have allowed their opponents to shoot 46.8% (206 for 440) from three-point range in their 21 losses. The Knicks make 36.6% of their three-pointers, 10th best in the NBA. The Knicks attempt 29.2 three-pointers per game, the most in the league.

BOSTON AT NEW YORK: Monday at 4:30 p.m. PDT. TV: NBA TV Here's a fun game, since lots of people like to root against the Celtics and Knicks (and the Miami Heat and Lakers) since both are struggling and someone has to lose. Both teams were success stories at the All-Star break before making dramatic/dizzy trades. The Knicks moved everyone on the roster over 6-8½ in bare feet to get Carmelo Anthony. The Celtics traded Kendrick Perkins, the heart of their defense, for Jeff Green, who backs up Paul Pierce, and Nenad Krstic, a misplaced power forward starting at center until Shaquille O'Neal gets back.

But check with me tomorrow New York's Amare Stoudemire , on the Knicks' struggles: "We're staying together, we're still focused. We're not quite panicking. " You talking to me? New York Coach Mike D'Antoni , who privately opposed the Carmelo Anthony trade, on the Knicks' and Nuggets' differing directions: "We were going well on a team that was playing a certain way and in the playoffs, and they [the Nuggets] were kind of up and down because of the situation that was there.

New team leader New York's Amare Stoudemire , telling teammates how they did it in Phoenix: "We don't have that sense of urgency. It's almost as if it doesn't matter. That's something I'm not used to. I try to instill the fact that we have to play with sense of urgency. " Knick tradition Pete Vecsey of the New York Post, on canceling a game against Orlando after debris containing asbestos fell in Madison Square Garden: "... After the success of Asbestos Night vs. the Magic, the Knicks have designated Dec. 15 vs. Boston as Mold Night and Dec. 17 [vs. Miami]

He plays basketball, too? With Michael Jordan dragging and Scottie Pippen, uh, off his game, Coach Phil Jackson searched through his Unmentionabulls for offensive help, only to see the unlikeliest of them all step up. Live from New York, it was Dennis Rodman! For once, notoriety had nothing to do with books, cross-dressing or Madonna.